Data storage devices (DSDs), such as disk drives and solid state drives are employed in numerous applications such as computer systems (e.g., desktops, laptops, portables, servers, etc.) and consumer devices (e.g., music players, cell phones, cameras, etc.). As files are created, modified, and deleted from the DSD, an operating system maintains a file system (e.g., directory information) wherein the file system itself comprises files written on the DSD. Various applications are available to track the history of a DSD so that the file system can be “rolled back” to a particular date. This enables a user to recover from a catastrophic event, such as a file system file or other file being corrupted by a virus, or if a user inadvertently deletes a file, or if a user would like to recover an earlier version of a file.
The currently available timeline applications typically employ a separate “backup” area of a DSD or a second DSD for maintaining a timeline representation of each file. When a user desires to rollback a DSD to a particular date, the timeline application rolls the DSD to the desired date using the backup files. There are several drawbacks of prior art timeline applications that are overcome by the embodiments of the present invention.